This Tutorial shows the process I use along with some additional considerations when making prints, but I will be happy to walk anyone through the process a few times to get you familiar with it...
I am having some probelms downloading. The size of the picture is 2272 x 1704 and it is a 4 megapixel camera, but the dpi is only coming up with 94 dpi? I read the tutorial chart and it should be around 200 dpi for the size and megapixel?
I am having some probelms downloading. The size of the picture is 2272 x 1704 and it is a 4 megapixel camera, but the dpi is only coming up with 94 dpi? I read the tutorial chart and it should be around 200 dpi for the size and megapixel?
Thanks,
2272x1704 pixel image at 94 dpi would be a print image at 24.17" x 18.12 inches. This is determined by dividing each of your pixel dimensions by 94.
This image is a 1.33:1 ratio or 4:3. My camera shoots the same ratio.
What you need to determine first is what size print you want to generate. You can generate a 9x12 image from this without having to crop. In order to do this, you simply open up the image size menu in your adobe software and turn off the bicubic resampling option and change the inch dimension on the long side to 12. The short side will automatically be adjusted to 9 and your new dpi resolution should be about 189 dpi. 2272/12=189 and 1704/9=189.
Changing your print resolution is not changing the number of pixels in the image at all. It is just squeezing them closer together or spreading them further apart.
Imagina a tic tac toe board with 9 squares. Each square represents a 'dot' in the 'dots per inch' scheme. if you spread those squares apart, you have some empty space between them, but you have a larger tic tac toe board. If you compress them together, you have less space between each square and a smaller tic tac toe board. The number of 'dots' did not change but the size of the 'board' did.
I'm curious to hear opinions about Colour Profiles. So far I've only sent 1 image to be printed on a Fuji Frontier machine and I believe the operator manually adjusted colour and density. I don't mind this since they possibly have a better eye for a nice image than myself anyway.
I have read however that you can get colour profiles (icc files) for Frontiers and some people set the image up exactly as requested then send to print with instructions not to adjust. Does anyone here do this? And if so, is it for a good reason?
I'm not sure I trust my ability or equipment (ie: monitor) enough to take the chance of saying "do not adjust", but I'm interested to hear others opinions.
Beyond that I read your tutorial some time ago - it is very good. The image I prepared was 3000x2400 @ 300 DPI (PPI for the purests out there) destined for an 8x10... It came back as a stunning print in my opinion.
I don't know a lot about color profiling... Gordon is the best source of info for that... he has been very successful with it... maybe he can give us some input in the near future...
I've found that images will almost always print a little darker than the monitor displays. Usually an image which looks just a little washed out on screen will print closer to what you expect the print to look like.
As to dpi - I've seen people requiring 300dpi for pro prints - usually stock agencies and the like. Is 189 (as quoted) an acceptable resolution? I know I could just go to the printer and run a few tests, but I'm being lazy. And voting, of course.
As to dpi - I've seen people requiring 300dpi for pro prints - usually stock agencies and the like. Is 189 (as quoted) an acceptable resolution? I know I could just go to the printer and run a few tests, but I'm being lazy. And voting, of course.
Ed
150 dpi is the minimum for SELLING prints here. You can buy your own images at any resolution though...
Is there any way to get "normal size prints 8x10, 11x13, after I go to cropping.
When I try to resize to normal print sizes one side is always off?
You will have to crop for an 8x10 most likely... your camera doesn't shoot in that ratio... 11x14 is a slightly different ratio than 8x10 also... getting the crop just right is important :)
What size is the one recommended for uploading a picture for printing?
For example: for a 1.25:1 ratio you get 4x5, 8x10 and 16x20 print sizes.
Which version do I upload? The 4x5 or the 16x20? Another way to see my question is: Is it better to automatically downsize or upsize the image (in terms of the quality of the final print)?
If I absolutely DO NOT want to crop an image, but it doesn't fit the print aspect size, I simply change the "canvas size" of the image and add a couple of white bars. It's kind of like viewing a widescreen movie on a normal TV -- you get the letterboxing effect.
This isn't necessary on the ezprints site -- you can set the images to print this way anyway -- but I find it easier to add them in the first place since that then lets the default print them the way I want as opposed to having to check the fit on each image. I don't know if it works exactly the same through the dpc prints set up, but assume it would.
jenarom -- Personally, I'm type A and always create the file for the size print I intend to make -- that way I can control the sharpness and everything else without letting someone else "resample" the image (either up or down). My workflow is basically create a "perfect" file without any resizing -- except for sharpening. Save that as a base image (eg: file1_base.png). Duplicate the file. Resize/sample the duplicate to the size I want to print at. Do any final touch-up work. Sharpen. Save this new file (eg: file1_11x14.png). Print. If I want to print at a different size, I go back to my base file, duplicate it, resize/sample, do touch up, sharpen, save (eg: file1_8x10), and print. Yes, it means I've got a lot of duplicate files at different print sizes but I avoid any unwanted pixellation if I give a smaller sized file and someone tries to print it bigger, or any softness if I give a larger sized file and someone tries to print it smaller.
Thanks, Patella. I've also done that when printing here at local labs. But for DPC printing, I think that you can only upload one file which will be available in several sizes (multiples of the aspect ratio of the file and up to the allowed resolution).
Ok I used the constrain aspect ratio in PS and got my shot all cropped but when I go to add a border afterward it screws the ratio all up. What can I do to fix this?
Ok I used the constrain aspect ratio in PS and got my shot all cropped but when I go to add a border afterward it screws the ratio all up. What can I do to fix this?
An easy way I've found to do borders is once I have the crop I like of my photo, I add a bigger border than I really want on my print... then I do a constrained-aspect rectangle selection to do my final border.
Of course, another easy way is too add to your canvas size in one direction the amount you'd like, and then calculate how big your canvas size should be in the other direction based on your target aspect ratio.
Please note, the following is simply my experience with digital photography printing services and may not reflect on your own past or future experiences.
Just because your image is perfectly "aligned" on screen does NOT mean it will be perfectly aligned on the final print. It'll probably be close, and depending on your intentions for the print (like matting and framing), it may not matter one whit. However, I'd personally be a little concerned if I was adding a border and hoping to get a poster-like print back. Even that .5 degree twist will very likely be glaringly obvious if you've added a thin border and may still be fairly obvious even if the border is relatively thick. Or maybe I'm merely stating the obvious.
I know some people here have added borders to the pics they've had printed and maybe they can share a different point of view. This is, however, what I've seen with some of the stuff I've had done.
I had a similar experience to Patella when having my first print professionally done. I created a final image of exactly 3000x2400 for an 10x8 print. When I got the print back though the outer border was half the expected size. I suspect they printed the image and then trimmed it down, although I didn't realise at the store so I haven't asked yet. If not, they must have sampled the image up and cropped it - quite upsetting since I made sure I submitted the precise size.
As for orientation - it was very close to square, although not quite perfect. Perhaps this was also their trimming though.
